Recorded at SXSW Interactive in March, I sat down with Ross McLean, who is the Executive VP / Group Planning Director at ad agency Draftfcb in Chicago to talk all things digital marketing.

In the interview, we discuss:

– Thoughts on SXSW
Our impressions in year 2 (Ross) and year 3 (Jim) at SXSW.
Will it keep getting bigger?
Will it jump the shark?
Where is the conference going?
Will it outgrow Austin?

– Goals for Draftfcb at SXSW
What they hope to learn
Why it’s important to attend conferences like these

– The amount of time you have get a customer’s attention — JUST 6.5 SECONDS!
Consumers have less time and tolerance for ads
What they need to do grab a customer in those 6.5 seconds
How marketers can extend that connection time

– Case study: Staying on brand with Coors Lite
What is their core message?
How do you extend that?
How do you align the message with consumer expectations?

– Tips that smaller brands can learn from big brands
Having your voice
Staying relevant
Have a point of view

– Two iPhone apps that Draftfcb has created for the marketplace
1) Heat Tracker: GeoLocation app that uses FourSquare check-ins to show what places are hot
Why single men or women might want to check out Heat Tracker

2) An “over-the-shoulder” app that lets consumers give direct feedback from their smartphone back to advertisers
Why people would volunteer to be part of this program

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 14th, 2011 at 6:34 am and is filed under Interviews, Social Networking / New Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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